Autographs on Fans
by Luce Red
Summary: Ogata meets Kurata at a Go event.


Title: Autographs on Fans  
Series: Hikaru no Go  
Author: Luce Red  
Disclaimer: Characters are the creation of Hotta and Obata  
Summary: If there was one thing Ogata resented, it was being compared to Kurata.

--

"Shindou, you forgot your fan!" Kurata 9-dan stood up and shouted after his opponent, who had rushed off as soon as they finished discussing their game. But the crowd at the Go event was too thick and noisy; there was no sign of Shindou. "Damn it, that boy moves like a fish," Kurata said in a grumbling tone. Scanning the crowd, he met Ogata's eyes and his eyes widened in greeting. "Aha, Ogata-sensei, didn't see you just now."

Ogata wasn't sure if Kurata was being sarcastic. The other pro was well-known for his jocular attitude, but he could be snippy when the occasion called for it. And on this occasion, losing to Shindou would tax anyone's optimism. "Good afternoon," he settled for saying. "Good game."

Kurata's eyes narrowed. "Are you talking about Shindou's Go or mine?" he demanded.

"Both." Ogata paused to think through the game for a moment. "But that attack you launched in chuban on Shindou's centre was a stroke of genius." He had spoken to Kurata often enough to know that the man responded well to compliments.

As he expected, Kurata smirked and crossed his arms in a gesture of satisfaction. "That's true. He wasn't expecting it at all, was he? It scrambled up his defenses."

_Which makes his victory over you all the more amazing,_ Ogata thought but didn't say. Instead, he nodded at the object in front of Kurata. "Is that Shindou's?"

"Yeah, his fan. The boy never goes anywhere without it. Never plays without it, either--except when he forgets, like just now. Don't worry, he'll be back for it in no time." He settled down heavily on his chair again, and began to tidy up the goban.

The presence of Shindou's fan had always intrigued Ogata. He remembered that the boy had started carrying it around soon after he returned to the Go world, and had wondered for a while if it was related to the mystery of Sai. After all, Shindou had chosen a very specific type of fan; not the Chinese type with wide edges, such as that Ichiryou favoured, for example, but a traditional Japanese fan that might have been carried by now long dead courtiers. And Sai's Go had been very traditional...

"Haven't see you at Go events for a while, Ogata-sensei," Kurata remarked after a while. "Heard that you were hard at work preparing to defend your Juudan title."

Looking towards him from where he was studying a nearby display of Go merchandise, Ogata wondered if Kurata was simply being obtuse or angling for hints about his preparation. "I'm always ready to defend my title," he said.

Last year, Kurata had been the challenger for the Juudan title. It had been very close: Kurata had won two of the five games right from the start, and in the last game, he had lost to Ogata by a mere half moku. Ogata had no doubts that Kurata would be eager to challenge him again the next year--and there was no doubt that next year, he would still be Juudan, for he didn't think that he was going to lose the title to Shindou this year. Even if Shindou had edged out Kurata to be the Juudan challenger this year.

Instead of the needling Ogata expected, Kurata nodded in appreciation. "Yes, you are. You've been in good form recently, Ogata-sensei. You won the Japan Cup last month, wasn't it? That was a well-played game with Serizawa-sensei at the end."

He wasn't used to Kurata being serious. The man was known for childish remarks and outlandish predictions, not compliments. It was unsettling.

"I was surprised to see you. But then with Shindou as your opponent at the Juudan games, you couldn't help coming to watch him play, right?" Kurata said with a snicker.

Ah, there it was.

"Can't be blamed, the boy's Go is always surprising," Kurata said. "Good instinct for the rhythm of the game, but says the strangest things at times.

"Oh, like what?" He was not the only one to notice Shindou's occasional odd behaviour among the Go community, but most people put it down to the fact that some Go pros had their quirks. But to Ogata, they felt more like clues to Sai's identity.

"His admiration of Shuusaku, for one--the way he talks, you'd think he knew Shuusaku personally," Kurata said, before he dropped the last of the stones into the two go-ke and clapping on the lids firmly. "Then his fan. Have you noticed, in discussions, sometimes he points at the goban with it?"

Ogata had not noticed. But then Shindou didn't usually discuss Go games with him, except on official occasions. He had not realised that Shindou went about discussing Go games, outside of that study group with Morishita. "He seems to think that it's very important," he said to Kurata, choosing not to reply to the latter's question.

Come to think of it, Ogata still didn't understand why the boy had turned down his invitation to join the Touya study sessions. After all, that would give him more opportunities to observe Akira, and since he and Akira were rivals-

He'd never understand Shindou.

"Yeah. Kind of silly for something you can buy at the shop in the Go Institute. Maybe it's an affectation," Kurata speculated. "Like in those ancient pictures of Go players."

Ancient pictures? Ogata was about to question Kurata, when a crowd of middle-aged men and women approached the other pro.

"Kurata-sensei?" One of them, evidently the self-appointed leader. "May I have your autograph?"

Immediately, Kurata's expression grew pleased. He threw a smirk in Ogata's direction.

Ogata averted his face, picking up a book of kifu and opening it, to hide his face--he had no intention of being mobbed by fans, especially in a place like this. This wasn't the first time that he encountered Kurata's supporters hunting him down for autographs. He didn't understand Kurata's pride in having a group of 30-kyu amateurs hanging on his every word--in his opinion, the man was just a bit too eager for attention. Now he watched, out of the corner of his eyes, as the first autograph-seeker held out a plain white fan.

The woman at his side asked, "Not an autograph card?"

Ogata was similarly puzzled.

The first autograph-seeker explained with relish, "Don't you know, now Kurata-sensei also autographs on fans? FANS' FANS, see?" He drew out the English word in exaggeration, as the rest of the crowd tittered.

"Good idea! Kurata-sensei, I just bought one," another from the crowd spoke up. "Could you autograph it too?"

"Of course, of course!" Kurata said with pleasure.

Ogata was about to edge out of the way when he heard another of the crowd--the _fans_--ask, "But how did you come up with the idea, Kurata-sensei?"

"Fans are so much more useful, don't you think?" Kurata said. "You can unfurl it-" he demonstrated, displaying the outsize characters for 'Kurata Atsushi' written on it, "to cover your face when you don't want your opponents to see your expression, and you can close it-" he closed the fan with a snap, "to say, 'game over', and you can also-" his voice took on a dramatic cadence, "Write something important on it!"

The crowd 'ooh', and a man asked. "But what?"

Kurata said, "Well, you can write an interesting Go proverb on it. Then, you can bring it everywhere, and inspire yourself before you play a game!"

There were murmurs of 'good idea!' A few left, presumably to buy fans.

Ogata couldn't help sneering at the childishness of it all. He was about to leave, when his eyes fell on the goban table, where Shindou's fan rested.

He didn't think Shindou wrote proverbs on his fan, but what if there was something on it that made it so important to him? Something to remind him about- Sai?

He took a step forward, looking down at the small object. It looked ordinary, just something one could buy at any shop. There were faint, worn marks where Shindou must have gripped it. Well, it was probably nothing, but there was no harm taking a look-

"Oh good, it's here, I thought I dropped it!" Shindou rushed up, breathless and with his face damp with perspiration. He grabbed the fan just as Ogata was reaching for it, and subjected it to an anxious inspection. He did not unfurl it, however, only held it tightly.

"Oi, Shindou!" Kurata called out from where he was autographing on autograph boards and a few fans. "There you are. Want an autograph?"

Shindou made a face and stuck out his tongue. "No, thanks!" he said. "I can sign my own."

"Your loss; when I get a title, you can sell it for money."

"I'll get my own title, thanks."

It sounded like they had been through the exchange before. It was surprising; Shindou had certainly never shown a tendency to get along with older pros (at least, not towards him) but here it seemed as though Shindou and Kurata knew each other well.

"Pretty bold to say that in front of Ogata-sensei, boy." Kurata's eyes were glinting before he went back to autograph-signing.

"Ogata!" Shindou gave a start when he realised that Ogata had been standing next to him all along. "I didn't recognise you without your white suit- er, Good afternoon, Ogata-sensei!" he said hastily.

"Good afternoon, Shindou," Ogata said. "You're in a hurry today."

Shindou gave an embarrassed chuckle as he stuffed his fan into his backpack. "Haha, I promised to meet Waya later, and I'm already late," he explained. He caught the way Ogata was looking at his fan. "Er, I forgot about this just now."

"It seems to be very important to you," Ogata said, "if you ran all the way back just for it."

"Er, yeah." Shindou shuffled his feet. "You're interested in fans too?" he said, and seemed to realise how inane that sounded, for he flushed.

"Yes." Specifically, in Shindou's.

"Oh-" Shindou looked uncomfortable, but suddenly, a mischievous look came into his face. He unzipped a pocket in his backpack and pulled out the last thing Ogata expected: a fan.

It wasn't Shindou's--at least, it wasn't the Japanese-style fan that Shindou carried everywhere. This was a plain Chinese-style fan, and it looked familiar. Ogata realised it was one of the fans that the Go event vendors were selling--just like the fans that Kurata's supporters were holding out to him.

"Here, Kurata-san gave it to me last time, and I didn't get the chance to return it to him. You can have it," he said, pressing it into Ogata's hands. "Got to run!" He suited action to word, turning around and disappearing into the crowd again.

"Wait-" Ogata said, too late. He looked at the fan in distaste. He didn't really want a fan. It looked a bit scratched, presumably from being jostled in Shindou's backpack. But wait: there a drop of ink on one side--was there writing on it? His heart beating faster, Ogata unfurled the fan.

There, on the white surface, were the kanji for 'Kurata Atsushi, future Juudan'.

(end)


End file.
